From Mass Flourishing to Vested Interests: A Conceptual Model for the Evolution of Organizational Institutions

Human flourishing requires the ability to operate from intrinsic motivation. The extent to which that can happen depends largely on how one’s surrounding institutions support a sense of autonomy, connectedness, and competence. I argue that the systematical prevalence of such conditions within an institution requires experiencing (i) exploration of the new in the emergence of the institution, and/or (ii) positive impact of its work on beneficiaries. The former is associated with the early phases of organizational evolution. The latter could be the source of flourishing in more established institutions, but hierarchies of power typically block it. Those with power are distanced from experiencing the impact of the institution on beneficiaries, structurally leading to priming through extrinsic motivations and vested interests. This leads to the need to further control those on the frontline who could experience the impact, which inhibits flourishing on their part as well.